“I Would Totally Go Clubbing With My Mom”

Jennifer: Look, I think… well, let me begin by saying that, at this point in my life, in my mid-twenties, I regard my mother more as my closest friend than as any real authority figure. I mean, I’m an adult. I’m employed. I have health insurance. She can’t really ground me anymore. However, she is the first person I turn to for advice because I know she is someone who absolutely has my best interest at heart. I feel like this is a good relationship with my mother. I also feel like we are lucky in that we have similar peronsalities. And neither one of us would freak out in the back of a limo in a cocaine haze. If either one of us were in the back of such a limo, I think we would both be TERRIFIED. So, yes, I’d go clubbing because I both love and, I think this is more important, LIKE my mom. We would do it badly, but if she really wanted to see what a New York club was like I would say “sure, of course.” We don’t have a good relationship because we don’t do that, we have a good relationship because were are not… crazy people strung out on cocaine. I think if you are crazy people strung out on cocaine your relationships will not be great, regardless of whether or not you are related.

Ashley: Right, but I think you’re describing a healthy relationship with your mom. Also, you have a great relationship with your mom because she is awesome (Hi, Kathleen!). However, there’s a big difference between seeking advice or being close with your parents or visiting establishments for anthropological/waffle-related reasons and spilling out of clubs at 4:00 AM, strung out and threatening each other. There’s, you know, middle ground. Unfortunately, I can’t really pin point exactly what it is.

Jennifer: The middle ground is “don’t be totally reckless.” I mean, I think that’s actually my problem with this. I think if I started doing cocaine and behaving really self-destructively, my mother would be beside herself trying to figure out how to make me stop and be healthy again. There’s a certain amount of recklessness we think is permissable in young people. But we assume that their parents would try to stop that, not enable it.

I went “clubbing” with my mom a couple weekends ago. We drank some wine and danced to soul music with my friends. It was fun! I don’t think that’s the kind of clubbing we are talking about here, though.

Jessie

I was just casually hate – looking through (read: unabashedly hate – creeping through) a high school acquaintances photo album of the hideous wedding she just had. I noticed that her mom came with her on her bachelorette and I just found it plain weird. I know some gals invite their mom along for their evening/weekend of debauchery and penile paraphernalia – but honestly I just don’t get it. I love my mom with ever fiber of my being – but there is a time and a place to get drunk and say inappropriate aloud to one another, and it’s Thanksgiving.